Two municipal police officers will block Czech artist David Cerny from entering the city hall gallery Banya Starinna in Plovdiv on October 10 2009, Plovdiv mayor Slavcho Atanassov told private national broadcaster bTV on October 9 2009.
 
On October 6 2009, following a protest from ultra-nationalist Ataka party, Atanassov issued a warrant banning Cerny from exhibiting his artworks in city hall galleries. Cerny had been originally invited to attend an exhibition organised by local artist Emil Mirazchiev held in a building owned by the city hall.
 
The Cerny controversy erupted in January 2009 when an art installation he created was displayed at the European Commission building in Brussels. It depicted Bulgaria as a collection of Turkish toilets, which enraged many in Bulgaria, although others took it as simply a satirical work.

After several days of heated reactions from Bulgaria, the artwork was partially hidden behind a black cloth. It is this black cloth that is supposed to be put on display in Plovdiv, Mirazchiev told bTV, maintaining that this could be compared to the Iron Curtain which divided Europe and the world for more than 50 years.
 
 "As someone who represents statehood in Plovdiv, I consider my decision the right one because this artist humiliated the Bulgarian state and offended our national dignity, which no one can deny. That’s why the Czech government officially apologised to Bulgaria for the exhibition and Cerny apologised to his government," Atanassov told bTV.
 
The apology happened after Bulgaria officially complained to the Czech government.
 
"We are a country with history and traditions and no one likes it to be seen as a Turkish toilet," he said.
 
Because of this insult Cerny had no place in a municipal gallery, he said, noting that Plovdiv had dozens of private galleries where he could exhibit.
 
"If he decides to visit Plovdiv I am ready to ask one of our guides to take him on a tour around Plovdiv and its cultural sites and show him what they represent," Atanassov said.
 
"I understand people opposing my view but as long as most people agree with me I am satisfied and I think most Bulgarians agree with me," he noted.
 
Two municipal officers will secure order on October 10 in case of protests, he said, because protests are expected for and against Cerny. "We are a democratic state and everybody can protest about what they like," he said.
 
"Art, in my opinion, must produce something good, something nice; this is my view. He went too far with his artwork and now he must deal with the consequences. Bulgarian artists have never taken it on themselves to insult the state in such a way," Atanassov said, making it clear that he was not ready to compromise.
 
On October 6, a group of Bulgarian artists urged Atanassov not to take sides in the issue and to show more tolerance than some Bulgarian politicians. The artists recalled communist-era times when special committees vetted what could be shown in Plovdiv. Two right-wing parties in Parliament, the Union of Democratic Forces and the Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria, also condemned Atanassov’s order to ban Cerny.
 
According to Mirazchiev, Cerny was amazed that he would be barred from a public building but allowed in a private gallery. "We were against the Bulgarian government's decision at the time to cover the exhibition with a black cloth," he said.

Mirazchiev said that Cerny had not yet decided whether he would come to Plovdiv. "I expect a letter from him later today," he said.
 
Prime Minister Boiko Borissov, previously mayor of Sofia, took a different stance on the issue, giving it a political dimension. On October 8 2009 he said that Cerny’s comparison of Bulgaria to a Turkish toilet symbolised the rule of the previous Bulgarian government whose actions had, in his opinion, damaged Bulgaria’s image.  
 
Borissov said that he would not interfere with mayoral duties but confirmed Cerny's invitation to lunch with him in the Council of Ministers building on October 11 2009. "After all, everybody chooses their own way to present art," he told reporters.
 
The Cerny row comes a week before Atanassov’s party, the nationalistic Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation (IMRO), is to elect a new leader with Atanassov as one of the candidates. He is facing IMRO current leader Krassimir Karakachanov
 
The party has decades of history behind it but for the past 20 years has failed to gain any major political results, winning no more than 1.5 per cent at national elections. Many attribute this to the appearance of ultra-nationalist Ataka party in 2005.
 
In fact Atanassov’s win in the mayoral elections in Plovdiv two years ago surprised many analysts who suggested that it was a sign of its potential revival. So far this has failed to happen.